


One Hundred Ways To Say "I Love You"

by LS_5Ever



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: But he’s fine, Endgame didn't happen, Hurt Peter Parker, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Peter loves Tony, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony loves Peter, background pre steve/tony getting together, can be taken as platonic, everyones alive, the avengers love peter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:55:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24165487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LS_5Ever/pseuds/LS_5Ever
Summary: 3 times Tony tells Peter he loves him without actually saying those words.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 2
Kudos: 113





	1. Pull over. Let me drive for a while

**Author's Note:**

> I might add more chapters at some point, cause (as per title) theres 100 ways, and I've only written about 3...

(1) 'Pull over. Let me drive for a while."

"Oh come on Mister Stark, we're not listening to that again!" Peter exclaimed, reaching over with his right hand to change the music in the car. He was driving, so he should get to choose the music.

Tony rolled his eyes, moving Peters hand back to the steering wheel. "Both hands on the wheel kid. And eyes on the road." He added when Peter turned to glare at him.

Peter had just spent the weekend at a convention with Ned, and Tony had frowned (a little bit) when he was told that he wouldn't be seeing the kid for the whole weekend. Usually, it wouldn't be too much of an issue, but Peter had been 'super busy Mister Stark' with school and Spider-manning on the evenings, so he hadn't seen him for the past week. Okay, so he may be slightly attached to the Spiderling next to him, which is why he drove all the way down to the convention to pick Peter up, and Ned had been more than happy for Peter to catch a lift back with Tony instead. He decided then that he didn't actually mind the guy in the chair.

Tony had been teaching Peter to drive every weekend when he came round to the compound. It had started off... not great. Tony initially thought that maybe he wouldn't be the best person to teach Peter, as he can be a little bit controlling and, well, lets be honest, if theres any chance of Peter getting hurt, then Tony would have stopped the car straight away. So, he asked Steve to teach Peter. The look on Peters face when Steve got in the car with him was somewhere between shocked, excited, and a bit hurt that Tony didn't want to teach him.

Tony very quickly had to be the one to teach him. Steve was a nightmare.

They came back after their first lesson, and if anyone were to cry, he would have expected it to be Peter, who got stressed at every little thing, and would want to be perfect in front of the Captain. So to say Tony was a bit surprised to see Peter fuming, and Steve on the verge of tears, is a bit of an understatement. Turns out Steve has never taught anyone to drive - because 'why on earth would I have ever needed to do that Tony?' - and it warmed Tony's heart when Peter literally begged him to take over. And of course Tony couldn't say no.

The first few lessons after that, they were both a bit on edge, and yeah it could've gone better, but they quickly fell into a routine where Peter would listen to Tony, and Tony wouldn't freak whenever Peter made a mistake. Tony was very happy at how far Peter had come with his driving, so when he asked if he could drive back from the convention, Tony didn't even hesitate to say yes.

"So tell me about the convention kid. Did you enjoy it?" Tony asked, letting a fond smile settle on his face as Peter talked non-stop. He told him about everything, every detail, including what both him and Ned ate the whole time they were there. Tony chuckled to himself as Peter got wrapped up in talking about his favourite part of the weekend. When he finally managed to take a breath, he looked over to Tony and said "It would've been better with you there though."

Tony swallowed the lump in his throat as Peter blushed slightly. "Yeah kid, I missed you too. But, as much as I hate it, you're growing up, and I can't have you round every weekend forever." Tony paused. "Well, I can try, but I think May would have something to say about that. Maybe something along the lines of I need to learn to let you go, blah blah blah."

"Well, I'll be there next weekend Mister Stark. Can we work on the web designs?"

"Anything you want kiddo." Tony replied, settling back into the seat and letting Peter continue to ramble on about what he wanted to do next weekend. After a couple of hours, he noticed Peters driving slightly deteriorate. He looked over to the (his) kid, who was paying an unbelievable amount of attention to the road ahead of him, eyes squinting and grip tight on the steering wheel.

"Pull over. Let me drive for a while." Tony said, pointing to the lay-by ahead of them. Peter glanced to the man on his right before nodding and pulling the car to a stop at the side of the road. They quickly switched seats, and Tony adjusted his position before setting back off again. Peter mumbled a thanks before yawning and placing his head on the car window.

"Tired?" Tony asked, heart warming at the sight next to him. Peter just hummed in agreement.

"Didn't sleep much this weekend. Ned doesn't sleep when he's excited, which meant that I didn't sleep either." Peter told him, eyes closing. "Wake me up in a couple of hours and I'll take over again."

Tony nodded, not saying anything as he knew that if Peter ended up nodding off, he wasn't going to wake the boy up. He turned the radio down a bit, changing the station to something more mellow so Peter wouldn't be tempted to start singing along. After about 15 minutes, he heard a small snore next to him, and rolled his eyes as he knew Peter was out for the count now. He really needed to make sure Peter slept more. What with school, being Spiderman, the 'internship', and having Ned as a friend, Peter wasn't really getting the rest he needed. Plus, even though he won't talk to Tony about it that much, he knew that the kid was starting to go on dates with that scary MJ girl he always goes on about.

The drive went past reasonably quickly, with Tonys brain thinking up new ideas all the time about Peters suit, and, well, pretty much just anything Peter related. Before he knew it, he was pulling up outside Peter and Mays apartment, and he had to admit, he did feel a bit dissapointed that their road trip was over. Even though for the majority of the drive Peter was asleep, as least he was still there. Tony was more than happy with that.

He pulled up outside the apartment before turning towards Peter and nudging him. "Pete, come on, we're home. Time to get up and go inside."

"Mhmp, g'way." Peter mumbled, snuggling into the jumper that Tony had placed between his head and the window at some point throughout the drive.

"Pete," Tony laughed, "I can't carry you up. I'm too old for that. You need to actually use your legs."

"Hmm, what?" Peter said, opening his eyes slowly. He took in his surroundings, and his eyes went wide as he turned back towards Tony. "We're here? I thought I said to wake me up so I could take over the driving for you?"

"Nah, you looked too cute to wake up. Plus you needed the sleep." Tony grinned as Peter blushed at the word cute. He mumbled something under his breath, too quiet for Tony to hear, but he could guess it went something along the lines of 'don't call me cute'.

"Well, thanks Mister Stark. I'll see you next weekend yeah?" Peter asked as he made his way out of the car. Tony followed him up to the door and they both stopped as they got to the top.

"You not coming over during the week?"

"Can't. Schools gonna be busy again this week, and then I've got..."

"Spidermanning, yeah, yeah, I get it. You know you can just tell me that I'm not cool enough for you anymore and you don't want to spend time with me." Tony joked, rolling his eyes as Peter yawned, again.

"I always want to spend time with you." And okay, Tony both loved and hated when Peter was so tired that he just said exactly what was on his mind. Tony just smiled, gave the young boy a quick hug, and waved him up to his apartment. Once Tony was back in the car, he sent a quick text to Steve (who told him to let him know when he got to Peter, when he dropped Peter off, and when he was on his way back) to let him know that Peter was back safe and that it wouldn't be long now till he was home.

Steve was waiting up for him when he finally got back to the compund, of course he was, Captain America never went to bed before he knew the team was back safe.

"Did Peter enjoy his convention?" He asked Tony, putting the mug down on the table as he got up, probably to head to bed.

"Yeah, he loved it. He slept most of the way home. I need to start checking up with May to make sure he's actually sleeping." Tony told him, and yes, he ignored the helicopter parent comment that Steve called out to him as he made his way, finally, to bed.


	2. It's okay. I couldn't sleep anyway

(2) "It's okay. I couldn't sleep anyway."

Tony was happy. Tony was happy because Peter was happy. He was spending the weekend at the compound with Tony and the rest of the Avengers, and he'd even said that it had been one of the best weekends ever. Peter had kicked Clints butt at Mario Kart, done a couple sessions of self defence with Nat, absolutely ruined the kitchen with Steve as they both tried to cook something new (they ended up having to order pizza in so they could actually eat something), and had challenged Thor to an arm wrestle (and won, but Thor refuses to admit that he let Peter win). Not to mention the endless hours that Tony go to spend with him.

Tony still remembered the constant teasing he got from the rest of the team when they saw just how soft he was with Peter, but now, they've all realised that they've ended up exactly the same way. That kid had somehow wormed his way into everyones hearts - including Loki's. Tony still wasn't overly happy with that friendship, because come on, Loki was, well, Loki. But around Peter, he becomes the worlds greatest guy, and Tony just cannot understand how one person can change someone that much.

So here they were, all of them stuffed into the living room watching some sci-fi film that Thor had never seen before, and Peter insisted that 'he has to see it, you cannot live on earth and have never seen this movie!'. And of course, because he brought out the puppy dog eyes, everyone had agreed to watch it. Loki had shown up half way through the movie and Peter had shuffled himself even closer to Tony, to make sure that the God had room to sit.

"Alright, I'm calling it a night." Natasha piped up once the movie had finished, rising from her seat in one fluid motion. Steve yawned, nodding and following her lead.

"Come on, its not even that late!" Clint exclaimed, throwing his head back like a child.

"You're such a child." Natasha deadpanned, voicing everyones thoughts. Clicking her fingers at him to get up and go to bed, he begrudgingly obliged.

"Come on kid, you too. And me. I think we're all ready for bed." Tony said, nudging Peter with his arm. His head just dropped onto Tony's shoulder and he groaned, not wanting to stand up yet. Tony chuckled when Thor walked over, picking Peter up like he weighed nothing, and God, Tony wished he could do it that easily.

"Thor!" Peter yelped, "put me down! I can walk, I just wanted to annoy Mister Stark."

"Yes, I do not blame you for wanting to annoy him." Thor solemnly agreed, gently placing Peter back on his feet. Tony just rolled his eyes, standing up and stretching before turning to look at Peter.

"Okay, say goodnight. This old man needs his beauty sleep." Tony joked, "oh and Loki, I guess you can stay the night if you want to. Take the spare room."

"Oh why thank you Mister Stark." Loki replied, with a little bit too much emphasis on the 'Mister Stark', before patting Peter on his head and turning and following Thor, whose room was next to the spare room.

Tony and Peter made their way to their rooms together. Tony stopped outside Peters room to wish him goodnight, but frowned when he saw that Peter seemed a bit nervous. "You okay kiddo?"

"What? Yeah, yep Mister Stark. All good here. Goodnight." Peter said, giving the man a hasty hug before closing the door to his bedroom. Tonys frown deepened, but he shrugged it off, knowing by now that the kid knew that he could come to him for anything at all, so if something was wrong, Peter would let him know in his own time.

Tony feel asleep within minutes of his head hitting the pillow, which was just incredible. He blamed it on the whole team running him ragged today. For once, he didn't dream about anything, good nor bad. He just slept, peacefully. Well, until he felt someone shake him.

"Mister Stark?"

What?

"Mister Stark."

"Hmhp?" Tony grumbled, rubbing at his eyes to wake himself up. He rolled over from where his face was squished against his pillow, and took in the sight of Peter looking down at him, eyes bloodshot, body trembling. Just like that, he was suddenly wide awake. "Woah kid, what's wrong?"

"I can't sleep." Peter whispered, trying to keep his voice down, even though they were the only ones who would be able to hear them, and they were both very much awake.

"Come here." Tony commanded, opening his arms and shuffling over so that Peter could get under the covers next to him. "Talk to me."

"I keep having nightmares, about that day..." Peter trailed off, not wanting to actually say it. But he didn't need to, Tony knew exactly what he was talking about. Tony himself had nightmares about that day, about watching Peter slowly turn to dust in his arms. If he could wipe any memory from his, and Peters, mind, it would be that one.

"I know Pete, me too." Tony pulled the boy towards him, letting his head rest on his shoulder. "You can stay here tonight, okay?"

Peter nodded, his breathing becoming more normal as Tony rubbed circled into his arm. He slowly rocked them both side to side, watching as Peters eyes slowly started to shut. They've been through a lot since then, all of them had. 5 years without their loved ones really took a toll on them, and Steve still says that he can't believe they pulled it off. Tony could though. There was no way he was spending the rest of his life without his kid. There was no way Clint was spending the rest of his life without his family. They'd lost so much, but after it was all over, they'd gained so much more. The whole world had changed. People were nicer, closer to each other. Hugs were given wherever you looked. No one wanted to feel that way again, to not have their family and friends next to their sides for that long.

"I promise you Pete, I'll never let you go again." Tony promised him, placing a gentle kiss on the top of his head.

"Don't make promises you can't keep." Peter said, "but thank you."

"Oh trust me, it's a promise I am definitely going to keep."

"I'm sorry for bugging you." Peter mumbled drowsily, pushing his head further into Tonys neck as he started to drift off.

"It's okay. I couldn't sleep anyway." Tony knew it was a lie, Peter knew it was a lie. But it didn't matter, because they also both knew that there wasn't anything that Tony wouldn't do for Peter.


	3. I'll wait

(3) "I'll wait"

Peter was on patrol, and it was meant to just be a standard patrol, just your average Friday night after school patrol, where he'd come over to the compound afterwards, tell Tony about what he had done that night - 'I stopped some bank robbers Mister Stark, and then the police actually thanked me! And then I saw this guy who stole a bike, and I stopped him, and and!' - then he'd bug Steve into watching something on TV which Tony blatantly states is a load of crap. Steve would usually agree, but nevertheless would sit through the entire thing, listening intently as Peter rambled on about what was happening, and what was going to happen. Tony never admitted it out loud, but that sight always warmed his heart.

So of course, they were all sat around the TV, Tony, Steve and Bruce on one of the sofas, Nat and Clint bickering on who gets the armchair (Clint got there first, but Nat just sprawled on top of him, having absolutely none of it), Rhodey picking at the popcorn from where he sat on the floor, and Wanda curled up gracefully at Bruce's feet. All watching some second-rate talk show, waiting on Peter to return from his patrol. They all liked to pretend that the little spiderling didn't have them wrapped around his little finger, but they also weren't idiots - they knew.

"Boss, an update from Karen has just come through. Peters vitals are not what they should be."

"Patch me through Fri." Tony replied, sitting up from where he had found himself slumped against Steve's side. Steve tensed up, and Tony could tell he was getting ready for battle. He saw the other Avengers eyeing him carefully, but Tony didn't really care about that right now. If Karen decided that his kid was hurt enough to contact him, then Tony really didn't care about anything else.

"What? Karen, I said no! I'll contact Mister Stark when I'm - ohh heeey Mister Stark." Peter trailed off through the speakers. "How are you?"

"Enough of the bullshit kid. Where are you? Why did Karen feel the need to contact me?" Tony asked sternly. He'd learnt by now to not listen to Peters rambling.

"Everything's fine Mister Stark. Karen's just overreacting!" Peter replied, and yeah, Tony knew when Peter said 'Everything's fine', everything is usually, decidedly, not fine.

"Shes an AI. She can't overreact. Not stop stalling and tell me what happened." Tony snapped, his suit forming around him. Bruce had already left the room. Tony decided that it was pretty bad that this had happened enough that Bruce knew to get the medbay set up before they even knew what had happened.

"Well, there was this guy, and god Mister Stark, he was hurting her! She was crying, and I had to help her. He tried to one up me, but I mean, come on, I'm Spiderman! So of course he failed, and then he started getting a bit annoyed, cause apparently I had taken away his fun for the night. And then the woman started crying again, and I went to help her and calm her down, and I thought he was proper webbed up good and tight you know? But he wasn't, cause he stabbed me." Peter rambled out, and, wait, what?

"You were stabbed?!" Tony... almost shouted.

"Yeah, but like, it's just a light stabbing Mister Stark, I could have totally walked it off and came back to the compound, but like I said, Karen overreacted!"

"Kid, there's, there's no such thing as a light stabbing! Where are you? I'm coming to get you." Tony asked, motioning for Friday to bring up Peters location before he could even reply, because he knew Peter wouldn't just tell him, no, that would be too easy.

"No need Mister Stark, I'm like, two minutes away from the compound, and I - shit " Peter paused, and honestly, Tony didn't want to know what made him swear, "It will actually be quicker if I just continue to make my way there. By the time you get to me, I'd practically be back anyway."

"Continue making your way here? Peter... Are you swinging? With a stab wound?!" And yeah, Tony was pale now, and also out of the suit - how did that happen? Steves hands were on his waist, a grounding touch that he hadn't even realised he needed.

"No?"

"That's not meant to be a question that you answer with another question." Tony exclaimed, grabbing Steves sleeves just for, well, something to touch. He closed his eyes, took a couple deep - very deep - breaths, and was about to continue talking to Peter, because if he wasn't going to get him, the least he could do was keep him talking so he knew he was safe. But then he heard a tap on the window. He turned around, and saw a red and blue figure stood outside, waving. Nat got to the window before he did, and let Peter in, who stumbled, and he should not be stumbling, Tony decided. Nat caught him before he faceplanted the floor, and finally Tony kicked into gear.

"Steve." Tony said, and he didn't need to elaborate. Steve put Peters arm around his shoulder, taking the young boys weight as he dragged him over to the elevator. "Medbay Fri."

"What the hell kid? Do you enjoy getting stabbed or something? Or are you just trying to see how much worry it takes to give me a heart attack?" Tony asked, folding his arms across his chest. Steve was more than qualified to handle Peters weight, and Tony didn't want to touch the kid yet until he'd seen Bruce. He'd made that mistake before, when Peter was close to tears, and Tony couldn't help giving him a hug, but yeah, turned out that was a bad idea, cause all that Tony achieved was pushing an unseen piece of glass further into Peters stomach. He'll never forget that surprised cry of pain coming from Peter that he caused.

"Wanted to see - ugh - how many grey hairs I could give you today." Peter forced the words out, the knife, yes Tony the knife, that was currently in Peters side, starting to take a toll on him. Tonys posture softened as the pain was showing on Peters face.

"Think you've reached a new record kiddo." He replied softly, not stopping his hand from cupping Peters cheek. The doors pinged open, and Steve jerked his head to make Tony step aside, before walking Peter over to the hospital bed, and laying him down gently.

As soon as Steve stepped away, Bruce was at Peters side, eyeing the part of his body was the blood was pooling. "Tony, make yourself useful and get the special meds we made for Pete." Bruce instructed, knowing Tony would just stand there like a statue otherwise. He nodded wordlessly, his body working on autopilot as he retrieved and gave Bruce the meds. Peter coughed them up the first time he tried to swallow them, but managed the second time with a gentle push of Bruce's hand.

"Both of you, out. He'll be fine. The meds will kick in any moment, and he'll sleep through it. I'll get the knife out, stitch him up, and then you can come back in." Bruce told them, and carried on when he saw that they really didn't want to go anywhere. "You don't need to be here to see this. Peter will still be here in half an hour. Leave."

Tony was more than prepared to argue his right to stay - it was his tower, his stuff, his kid for gods sake, but before he had the chance to even open his mouth, Steve was tugging on his arm, pulling him towards the door. Tony would be lying if he said he was strong enough to fight Steve, but, without his suit, he had no chance, so he allowed himself to be taken outside of the room where Peter was getting a knife taken out of him.

"What the hell Steve?" Tony glared at the super soldier in front of him, "Peter needs us in th-"

"Peter doesn't need us in there. Peter is more than likely fast on by now. What Peter needs is for you to calm down, so that Bruce can do his job, and so when he's all stitched up and awake, he can have his dad sat next to him, while his super healing takes place thanks to the fantastic job that Bruce could do, because you didn't get in the way."

"Yeah, alright, I guess he..." Tony paused, "Wait, I'm not his dad, Steve. I'm just his mentor."

"Sure you are Tones, sure you are. You keep telling yourself that. And Peter will keep denying that he's your son. And I'll keep denying that you're both driving me to an early death." Steve rolled his eyes, continuing to lead him and Tony to the kitchen, where the rest of the team were.

"How is he?" Nat asked as soon as they stepped into the kitchen. Tony gave Steve a half glare, with a look that said 'we're not finished with this conversation', before turning to Nat and nodding slightly.

"He's okay, as far as he can be with a stab wound. Bruce isn't worried at all. He's stitching him up as we speak. I've been banned from the medbay until Bruce has finished though." Tony huffed, eagerly accepting the coffee that Clint offered to him.

"That's probably for the best." Nat nodded. "You do get a little... protective when it comes to Peter."

"And you don't?" Tony challenged her, knowing full well the extent that Natasha will go to protect Peter. He'd seen Steve having to keep her from killing a minor when they found out that Peter was having a little trouble at school. Not that Tony fared much better, but at least he only threatened that Flash kid, Nat was more than prepared to go full assassin on him. Peter still hasn't forgiven them for that day. Totally worth it though.

They all sat around the kitchen island, waiting for Bruce to come in with some news. After about an hour, the Doctor did make his way into the room, silently asking for a cup of coffee. Clint, on coffee duty as always, got up to pour him a fresh mug. Bruce waited till he had it in his hands, then he drank some, and even sat down before actually making eye contact with Tony. To say Tony was a bit exasperated was an understatement.

"So?!" Tony asked, eyes wide as his arms went up in the air, and really the only thing keeping his half calm was Steves presence next to him, with one hand on the small of his back.

"He's fine Tony. Have some faith in me. It was only a light stabbing." Bruce answered, rolling his eyes at the genius in front of him.

"Light... Oh for fucks sake. Peters rubbing off on you. There's no such thing as a light stabbing!" Tony exclaimed, silently cursing Peter for all the times he's made the 'light stabbing' comment.

"Actually, there is. To be honest, Peters is probably a medium stabbing, but now the knife is out, with his healing factor, it's definintely in the pain region of a light stabbing." Bruce told him matter of factly. Steve couldn't help the snort that left his mouth, and he apologised silently when Tony's glare rounded on him.

"Bruce. Can I go see my kid yet or not?" Tony asked, getting to the point before he fully snapped at someone in this room.

"Yeah you can. He's also awake." Bruce answered, nodding his head.

"Awake? That was quick." Tony frowned, thinking that they needed to alter the medication. It worked fine last time.

"I didn't give him a full dose. I knew it wouldn't take me long to fix him up, so I figured there was no point in having him out cold for longer than necessary."

"Yeah. Thanks Bruce." Tony smiled softly. He nodded to the others quickly, before making his way back to the Medbay. When he opened the door, he heard a little shuffle, which turned out to be Peter moving to see who his first visitor was.

"Hey Mister Stark." Peter smiled dopily. Ah, so he was still on some pain medication.

"Hey Pete, how you feeling now kiddo?" Tony asked, grabbing Peters hand as he sat down in the chair next to him. Tony wished he could count the times he'd sat on this chair waiting for Peter on one hand, but the truth is, he couldn't count the times on both his fingers and toes. Peter had this issue where he couldn't leave someone in danger. Even if he'd managed to get 99 people out, he'd have to go back for that last person, even if it meant neither of them coming out. Tony had a love-hate relationship with that side of Peter.

"Much better. Side still hurts a bit, but Bruce said I should be up and back to normal in a couple of days." Peter replied, brining their adjoined hands up to his cheek so he could have some human contact. A small smiled formed on Tony's face as he settled back on the chair, hand still enclosed in Peters.

"Will you stay?" Peter asked, eyes closing slowly as he struggled to keep their hands up at his face. Tony tugged their hands down together to rest of the bed, giving a little squeeze with his fingers.

"Don't worry kid, I'm not going anywhere. I'll wait. I'll be right here when you wake up."

And he was.


End file.
